Adjustable gantry



y 1970 J. B. EVANS 3,520,514

ADJUSTABLE GANTRYD Filed April 8, 1968 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 l6 1;? 6/8 TIE: l- 2 INVENTOR. 39 JUL/U5 a. EVANS M CMMJ Attorney y- 1970 J. B. EVANS 3,520,514

ADJUSTABLE GANTRY Filed April 8, 1968 2 Sheets-$heet :1

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INVEN TOR. JUL/U5 a. EVANS United States Patent 01 ice 3,520,514 Patented July 14, 1970 3,520,514 ADJUSTABLE GANTRY Julius B. Evans, Chicago, Ill., assign'or to United States Steel Corporation, a corporation of Delaware Filed Apr. 8, 1968, Ser. No. 719,306 Int. Cl. B66c 23/60 US. Cl. 254-139 1 Claim ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE This invention relates to a gantry of the type often used for supporting a block and tackle in hoisting heavy objects or human beings during rescue Work.

In the past most gantries for supporting and lifting heavy loads have been of extremely heavy and bulky construction. While serving well their function of supporting the loads for which they were designed, they have been diflicult to move in one piece, or to take apart for movement in several pieces. They have also been difficult to adjust in height or to position on sloping ground. Some gantries have solved the problem of the heavy construction, but they have still been difiicult to adjust or to take apart. Also, many attempts to reduce the weight or adjustability of the gantry have seriously reduced the maximum safe load the gantry could carry.

Therefore, an object of my invention is to provide an adjustable gantry of lightweight yet sturdy construction.

Another object of my invention is to provide a gantry that can be easily assembled and disassembled for ease in transportation from place to place.

Still another object is to provide a gantry that can be used in tight places or on uneven ground and can be easily adjusted in a variety of ways to fit the needs of the situation and the environment in which it is used.

These and other objects will be more apparent from the following description of my invention and the attached drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a side elevation of a gantry constructed in accordance with my invention;

FIG. 2 is an end elevation of the gantry of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a detail side elevation of a portion of the gantry of FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a side elevation of the gantry of FIG. 1, adjusted to another position from that shown in FIG. 1; and

FIG. 5 is a detail view of one of the parts of the gantry of FIG. 1.

In FIG. 1, gantry 2 comprises an elongated beam 4 supported by legs 5. The beam 4 is of tubular construction and has spaced-apart teeth 6 protruding from its top surface. Notches 8 between the teeth 6 receive the upper curved portions of U-bolts 10 and a ring 12. A typical U-bolt 10 is shown in front elevation in FIG. 5. The U-bolts 10 act as a stop means for the legs 5, as hereinafter explained. The ring 12 supports a block and tackle 14.

The legs 5 are attached to the beam 4 by means of sleeves 16, which fit around the beam 4 and its protruding teeth 6 (FIG. 2). The sleeves 16 are slidable lengthwise along the shaft 4, and U-bolts 10 are positioned adjacent the inside ends of sleeves 16 to prevent the sleeves from sliding toward the center of beam 4. If deemed necessary, U-bolts 10 may also be provided on the outside ends of sleeves 16 to insure that there is no movement of the sleeves toward the ends of beam 4. Legs 5 are detachably mounted on stub shafts 18 which extend from either side of each sleeve 16. The upper ends of legs 5 have arcuate recesses 20 (FIGS. 1 and 3) which receive the stub shafts 18 to for a pivotal connection between legs 5 and sleeves 16. Flanges 22 on the ends of shafts 18 prevent the legs 5 from slipping off the shafts.

As shown in FIG. 3, each leb 5 has a flattened portion 24 near its pivotal connection with sleeve 16. Adjacent this flattened portion 24 and integral with the sleeve 16 is a plate 26 with a series of holes 28 in an arcuate line centered about the axis of stub shaft 18. A pin 30 fits through a hole in the flattened portion 24 of leg 5 and into one of the holes 28 in the adjacent plate 26. The pin 30 thus holds the leg 5 fixed in one of a number of possible positions of rotation about shaft 18. Preferably, the pin 30 extends through each hole 28 to the inner side of plate 26, so that a nut 31 (FIG. 2) or other securing means may be attached to keep the pin from sliding out of its holes. In order to prevent the loss of pin 30 when not in use, a chain 32 is connected between the head of pin 30 at a convenient location on leg 5.

The legs 5 are preferably bent as shown in FIG. 2, so that the gantry 2 will have a broader, more rigid base on which to stand. Each leg 5 has two telescoping sections 34 and 36 to permit adjustment of its length. Section 34 slides within section 36 and is held at its desired position by a set screw 38. The bottom end of section 34 of each leg 5 carries a spike 39 or other suitable means for sup porting the gantry 2 on the ground.

The foregoing gantry provides a block and tackle support that is sufficiently rigid for many uses. However, if greater rigidity is desired, a support brace 40 (FIG. 1) may be attached between the legs 5 on opposite ends of cross beam 4. When used, the brace 40 rests on wing nuts 42, which are tightened to hold the brace 40 firmly in place.

From the attached drawings and foregoing description, it is apparent the gantry 2 may be quickly and easily assembled or taken apart. The legs 5 freely detach from the sleeves 16 simply by pulling pins 30. Also the legs 5 together with sleeves 16 can slide off the cross beam 4. For storage or transport of the apparatus 2, the preferred practice is to remove only the legs 5 and brace 40 from the cross beam 4. These parts are then placed parallel with the cross beam 4, and are tied together with rope, so that the entire gantry forms one elongated, easily handled load.

The gantry '2 is also adaptable to many different situations and terrain requirements. For instance, FIG. 4 illustrates how the adjustability of the legs 5 can be used to make the gantry 2 into a crane for use next to an embankment. Sleeves 16 are slid toward the same end of beam 4, and the beam 4 is held in an upwardly tilting crane posi-' tion by adjusting the length and angle of the legs 5. The legs are fixed securely in their positions shown in FIG. 4 by tightening set screws 38, and inserting pins 30 through the desired holes 28 in plate 26. A U-bolt 10 is placed in a notch 8 at the upwardly facing end of the top sleeve 16 and that is all that is needed to keep the beam 4 from sliding relative to te sleeves 16. Ring 12 is inserted in a notch 8 near the extending end of beam 4 and supports a block and tackle or other hoisting equipment at a position beyond the embankement edge.

While I have described onl yone embodmient of my gantry and several ways in which the gentry may be adjusted to fit the needs of the situation, other embodiments and adjustments will be apparent.

I claim:

an elongated beam having a plurality of notches spaced along its length,

two leg members for supporting said beam and mounted on said beam so as to be slidable lengthwise along the beam, each of saidleg members including,

a sleeve slidably mounted on said beam, 1

two shafts protruding from either side of said sleeve,

two legs having recesses in their top ends detachably engaging said shafts to form a pivotal mounting of said legs on said sleeves,

said sleeve having a wall adjacent each of said shafts with a plurality of recesses arranged in a circular are centered on the axisof said shaft section,

' each ofsaid legs having a hole alignable with said recesses in said sleeve wall,

, anda' pin associated with each of said legs designed for insertion through said hole in said leg and one ofsaid recesses in a wall of said sleeve, thereby fixing said legrelative to said sleeve,

- -1. An adjustable gantry comprising s stop means fixed in at least one of said notches and positioned to prevent each of said leg members from sliding in one direction along said beam,

and means for supporting a load on said beam.

References Cited h UNITED STATES, PATENTS 8/ 1951 Switzerland.

HARVEY C. VHOR'NS BY, Primary Examiner s. or. X.R.' 

